Derek DeVries

I'm Derek DeVries; the DM says make a saving throw vs. my charisma.

I'm Derek DeVries.  I'm a life-long geek (still have the bag I sewed back in junior high to keep my D&D dice in). I've been using "social media" since before it had a name. Unlike many of the "Fauxcial Media Gurus" (ie people who read a couple of books, started a Facebook page, and set up a blog), I love this stuff and have the benefit of over a decade of immersion in the medium. I spent college in front of a computer monitor instead of partying, and one of my favorite things in the world is to get other people as excited about the intersection of communications theory and technology as I am. If you're in to credentials, I have Bachelor's and Master's in Communications from Grand Valley State University and I've worked at Grand Rapids-based communications firms including J.W. Messner, Inc. and Seyferth & Associates. I've done crisis communications, online reputation management, written social media policy, developed training, and promotion for over a decade. Presently I'm the Communications Technology Manager at Grand Rapids Community College (GRCC). I currently serve on the board of the West Michigan Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), the Marketing Committee of the West Michigan Environmental Action Council, the Marketing Committee of Kids Food Basket, and I'm an adjunct faculty member at GRCC teaching Interpersonal Communication and Public Speaking (I've also previously taught at GVSU). I'm available for social media speaking / consulting / training and other matters of geek-dom (like if you're trying to beat the 2nd Quest on Legend of Zelda and can't find level seven). Contact me if you're interested in retaining my services.

Social Media Consultant at Derek DeVries Consulting

2010

Social Media / Online Reputation Management (ORM) speaking, training, project management, strategic planning and consulting services.

Adjunct Faculty at Grand Rapids Community College

January 2007

Taught COM 131 - Fundamentals of Public Speaking and COM 135 - Interpersonal Communication.

Communications Technology Manager at Grand Rapids Community College

September 2001

• Crisis Communications (member of Emergency Management Team for crises including inclement weather closings, bomb threats, campus evacuations, helicopter crash, protests, etc.) • Instrumental in making GRCC the first college in Michigan to offer crisis text messaging to students/employees. • Environmental scanning (collected articles of interest on a daily basis for college leadership). • Call Center: Oversaw main switchboard operations for GRCC, supervising two full-time employees and four student employees. Call volume avg. 160,000 calls per year. Developed comprehensive analytics system for phone traffic. • Raider Mascot Program: Developed from visual concept to suit (including trademarking logo). Scheduled/managed appearances by Raider mascot performers. • Social Media: Initiated/managed all of GRCC's efforts in social media. Initiated and developed social media training for employees. Drafted social media policy. Managed multiple ongoing social media marketing campaigns. • Initiated/managed all GRCC online reputation management efforts. • 2010 Armen Award for Innovation Recipient. • Led teams through multiple redesigns of the website. • Brand identity management and consulting. • Media relations. • Event planning. • Copywriting, graphic design, photography and creative services. • Primary Communications Dept. liaison with IT Dept., consulting on technology issues. • Served on cross-functional teams including: Risk Management, Supplier Diversity, Web Site Portal, Complaint Process Management, Catalog Committee.

Adjunct Faculty at Grand Valley State University

January 2006 - January 2008

Taught COM 320 (Vision and Culture) and CAP 220 (Fundamentals of Public Relations).

Staff Assistant at Seyferth and Associates, Inc.

September 2000 - September 2001

Worked on accounts including Roskam Bakery/Starr Puffs Bakery, BISSELL, Inc., McDonald’s, Universal Forest Products, North Ottawa Community Health System (NOCHS), The Detroit Medical Center, the Great Lakes Chapter of the Appraisal Institute, Grand Valley State University, Manatron, Grand Rapids Community College, and the West Michigan Strategic Alliance.

Intern at J.W. Messner Inc.

January 1999 - September 2000

Contracted to revamp the customer service operations for the City of Grand Rapids and Kent County governments. Staffed customer service desk, built knowledge management system, created collateral material, collected data and compiled reports.

Grand Valley State University

2003 – 2005

Masters of Science

Grand Valley State University

1998 – 2000

Bachelors of Science

Concentration: Communications

Lansing Community College

1996 – 1998

N/A

Concentration: Transfer

Digital Marketing, The Long Tail, Perpetual Beta, Blogging, SEO, SEM, Online Community Management, Reputation Management, Digital Crisis Communications